Lou Gehrig's Salary Cut
The Yankees' Iron Horse Was Cut $4,000 When He Had an Off Season.
The Iron Horse had a poor 1938, batting .295 with 29 home runs, 114 RBIs, and a .523 slugging average. For most players, that would be a nice season, but not for Gehrig.
The player’s first name is Henry and his middle name is Louis. Who is he? Yes, Henry Louis Gehrig played from 1923 until 1938, although both his first and last season were brief. Henry Louis Gehrig is considered the greatest of all first basemen. He was also considered indestructible.
The Yankees Cut Lou's Salary
Lou’s consecutive game streak started when he pinch hit for PeeWee Wanninger and then, in the Yankees’ next game, replaced Wally Pipp at first base. By the end of the 1938 season, Lou Gehrig had played 2,122 consecutive games. The Iron Horse had a poor season in 1938, batting .295 with 29 home runs, 114 RBIs, and a .523 slugging average. For most players, that would be a nice season, but for it was not for Lou Gehrig, which prompted the Yankees to cut his salary by $4,000. Gehrig did not raise any objections. In late January, he signed for an estimated $35,000, which brought his career earnings to a total of $361,500.
Lou Accepted the Cut
Nineteen thirty eight was the first time that Gehrig had batted below .300 since he hit .295 in 1925, which had been his first full season. It was the first time that he hit fewer than 30 home runs since 1928, and his 114 RBIs were his fewest since 1926. For those reasons, he accepted a cut in salary, which amazingly, was not the first that he had received. In 1932, Lou hit .349 with 34 home runs, 151 RBIs, and a .623 slugging average, but because of the Great Depression, owner Jacob Ruppert cut salaries, and Gehrig went from $25,000 to $23,000.
Some of Lou's Great Achievements
Babe Ruth overshadowed Lou Gehrig (as well as every player in history), but while Babe, the greatest of all players, was spectacular and flamboyant, Gehrig was quietly consistent. Lou played every game of every season from 1926 through 1938. He still hold the American League record for RBIs with 184, he holds the records for career grand slams with 23 (yes, bases loaded home runs usually are spectacular), he is one of two American Leaguers to hit 4 home runs in a nine inning game (Rocky Domenico Colavito), and he hit for the cycle twice in his career, which was two more times than Ruth. Gehrig drove in at least 100 runs in each of his full thirteen seasons.
Lou Was Not "Coming to Life"
The end came quickly. In his first five games in 1939, Gehrig managed only one hit, and when he got two hits in the next came, the headlines read that “Gehrig Comes to Life,” but it was, as most headlines are, misleading. Lou singled to right and had a Texas League bloop single to left in the eighth, which he tried to stretch into a double. He was thrown out easily and didn’t slide. Second baseman Billy Knickerbocker saved Lou an error when a ground ball caromed off his glove and went straight to Knickerbocker, who threw the batter out.
A Strange Coincidence
Reporter James Kahn wrote, “I think there's something wrong with him. Physically wrong, I mean. I don't know what it is. But I am satisfied that it goes far beyond his ball-playing.” On May 2, 1939, it was announced at the Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit that Babe Dahlgren would play first base. Among the guests at the hotel that day, on a business trip, was Wally Pipp.
References:
- Daley, Arthur J. “Ruffing Wins, 8-4, But Injures Elbow; Gehrig Comes to Life.” New York Times. 26 April 1939, p. 29.
- Dawson, James P. “Gehrig Voluntarily Ends Streak at 2,130 Straight Games.” New York Times. 3 May 1939, p. 28.
- Drebinger, John. “Gehrig Signed by Yanks at Estimated Salary of $35,000; Veteran Accepts $4,000 Pay Slash.” New York Times. 26 January 1939, p. 29.
- “Gehrig’s Total $326,500; Lou Has Drawn That Amount in 14 Campaigns With Yanks. New York Times. 26 January 1939, p. 29.
